Kouki
by Adina Alexis
Summary: "I won't make you marry me, even for the sake for our son. But I'd like to try and court you, Kougyoku." "But I don't-" "You're my family now, Kougyoku. You and Kouki." "Sinbad-san, I just need you to be a proper father to him!" "And I will. But I want to be a proper partner to you too, if you'll accept me, Kougyoku. After all, we have a son to raise. Together."


_Kougyoku has been missing for the past five years, when she suddenly turns up in Sindria of all places, when the kingdom needs her powers the most. But why has she decided to appear now, all of a sudden?_

Excerpt:

"I won't make you marry me, even for the sake for our son. But…I'd like to try and court you, Kougyoku."

"But I don't-"

"You're my _family_ now, Kougyoku. _You and Kouki._ Won't you let me try and be a proper partner to you?"

"Sinbad-san, I just need you to be a proper _father_ to _him_!"

"And I _will_. But I want to be a proper _partner_ to _you_ too, if you'll accept me, Kougyoku. After all, we have a son to raise. _Together._ "

.-.-.

The situation was looking bleak. Sinbad was even considering finally using the last ace up his sleeve, the one he forbid himself to use unless the situation was really dire. But just as he was about to do so, a figure suddenly zoomed past his generals and up in the air above the ocean surrounding Sindria.

Eyes widened when they recognised who it was. "Isn't that-?"

The light blue figure, who was in her full Djinn equip form, chanted something and a huge wall of water rose from the ocean surrounding Sindria. "Vaniel Ganezza!" she shouted as sliced her sword downwards, bringing the water crashing down with the movement, washing away every last one of Sindria's enemies in one fell swoop.

She descended to the palace amongst the cheers that started after the civilians got over the shock of the battle ending so suddenly.

"So it really was you, himegimi."

Sinbad took in the sight of her. She looked so different, not helped by the fact that she was currently in her rather revealing full Djinn equip form, that he almost couldn't recognise her - even now as she unequipped her djinn and was back to wearing her casual clothing.

Her hair was no longer as long as he remembered, and it was also not in its trademark two ribbon style, rather it was held up in a single ponytail, with the hairpin her djinn Vinea was encased in holding it up. And her clothes…they were the furthest thing from what a Kou princess would wear, but surprisingly she looked comfortable in them. Currently she wasn't wearing the long robes he remembered her to always be wearing every time when he'd seen her before, but she was actually wearing a simple Sindrian style short-sleeved dress.

"I would be lying if I said I just happened to be passing by," she said quietly. "Or that I saved Sindria just now with no ulterior motives." At the last two words, everyone in the vicinity tensed, except for unsurprisingly, Sinbad.

"Rather, I am here for a favour. Swear to me on Sindria, that you'll do it, regardless of what you see later."

She was no longer so easy to read, Sinbad thought. Before, she had been such an open book to not only him, but to anyone else really, wearing her heart practically on her sleeve. But now those eyes of hers no longer gave much of a hint as to what she was feeling, although the rukh surrounding her did.

The rukh told him that she was tense, desperate and…afraid.

All three emotions which he couldn't figure as to _why_ she was feeling at the moment, as there was nothing physical present that could make her feel such things.

But she did say, regardless of what he _saw later._

He wondered what it could be, and well, he did owe her a debt for helping to save Sindria.

"I swear on Sindria," he agreed, and his generals let out the breaths they'd been holding the moment they heard the words 'ulterior motives' and 'favour'.

.-.-.

She took them to a room in one of the small inns near the port, where to their surprise, Alibaba Saluja of all people had opened the door. Sinbad was about to ask him what he was doing there - he hadn't even been aware that the Balbadd prince was even in Sindria, and by the look on Sharrkan's face, neither was he - but the blonde just shook his head and gestured for them to come in first.

Kougyoku's three other attendants where there, including Ka Koubun. But it wasn't their presence that attracted everyone's attention.

Instead, their eyes were all drawn to the smallest bed nearest to the open window, where a sickly but somehow familiar looking boy who looked about four years old lay, a turban securely fastened on his head, covering his hair entirely. At the moment he was asleep, his skin pale as if he rarely played out in the sun.

Slowly as to most likely not disturb him from his sleep, Kougyoku slipped the turban off his head, and what was revealed shocked everyone else in the room except for her, Alibaba and the princess's attendants.

He had purple hair. Without needing to be said, everyone present was well aware that it was the exact same shade as another person who was in that very room, whose world suddenly seemed to have stilled.

"Please help…my son," she whispered, her voice on the verge of breaking.

.-.-.

Fortunately, Kougyoku and Alibaba had brought the boy - Kouki - to Sindria just in time. Sinbad hadn't even needed a paternity test to check if Kouki really was his son - he hadn't met, seen or was aware of anyone else with hair like his except for him and his father, plus the boy also had his features and Kougyoku's eyes - that was enough to convince him and he agreed to the operation to donate one of his organs to Kouki with no hesitation whatsoever. Kougyoku apparently wasn't a match - and her and Alibaba had exhausted their search for one before they decided to go to Sindria as a last resort to see if _he_ would be a match, which he miraculously was.

.-.-.

"Himegimi, you were missing for the past five years was it because of…?" he asked slowly. He was still recovering from the operation, but he was well enough to move around, whereas their son was still asleep.

She nodded wordlessly in reply as she stroked Kouki's hair.

His next question was a lot more sensitive to ask, but he knew that he had to. He had no memory of sleeping with the Kou princess and wasn't sure how Kouki could have been conceived and wanted to see if she did. "Did you know -"

"I didn't know who the father was until I gave birth to him," she answered before he could even finish asking the question.

He was shocked at that. She didn't know either?!

Later, at a more appropriate time, he needed to ask for Yamuraiha's assistance to check both their memories to try and find out what had happened. Surely amnesia couldn't have affected them both regarding this incident?

Unless there was foul play involved, of course. The thought alarmed him, but he pushed that away for now and turned his attention back to her.

"You didn't know and yet you still chose to-"

"I wasn't going to kill an innocent soul," she interrupted, tone firm.

A tense silence fell between them, before he broke it by asking, "Himegimi - you know that you must stay here now, don't you?" he said as gently but at the same time as firmly as he could.

"Unless Kouki's interested in becoming a ruler, I'm not going to let you force him into this kind of life," she said, tone as firm as before.

He shook his head. "I won't force him to become my heir, of course. But my enemies won't care about that, himegimi. All they'll see is a potential hostage, or a pawn they can use against me. That's why you kept his hair hidden, didn't you?"

"I'm not going to leave him here!" she said adamantly.

"Of course you're not." He reached over the bed and placed his hand over hers, over the one that was stroking their son's hair. "I need you to stay too, himegimi."

She stared at him, speechless. Why would it be so strange for him to want her to stay as well? Did she really think that he would be so heartless as to separate mother and child, much less his own flesh and blood and the woman who bore him?

"You're just as valuable to my enemies as he is, Kougyoku," he pointed out gently.

"But I'm not yours!" she declared, pulling her hand away from his as if his very touch was poisonous. Her tone sounded offended, but also scared. What had happened to the girl who had blushed at the merest touch from him?

 _She probably thought, for the past five years, that the worst case scenario was that either you raped her or she forced herself on you,_ his brain reminded him. _And the best case scenario was that the two of you were drunk or drugged when you had sex. And in_ every _scenario, that she had no memory of what had occurred for some reason, which_ never _bodes well._

"You're the mother of my son," he clarified. "Regardless of anything else, that's what everyone else will see."

"So you're going to trap me here?" her voice sounded so small. He wondered what it must felt like for her, having to decide to give up the freedom she must have enjoyed when she escaped palace life, only to have to choose to come back so that she could save a life other than her own.

He sympathised with that. After all, he was trapped in such a life too, and could no longer be the nomadic explorer he preferred to be.

"You're free to travel if you wish, Kougyoku," he said gently. "But I'll need one of my generals to come with you when you do. I know you can protect yourself just fine -," he continued when he saw her starting to protest. "But sometimes you never know what might happen. It's better to be safe than sorry."

"Even if I try to leave, you'll put on a tail on me anyway, won't you?" she whispered.

"Like it or not, you're _my family_ now, Kougyoku," his voice was still gentle, but also firm. He wasn't going to budge on the subject.

"…Could you give me some time? I want to be with my - with our - with _Kouki_ …alone." She was already struggling on how to define their son, which Sinbad thought was a good thing. At least she was unconsciously considering him as a part of their little duo in some way.

"Of course," he acquiesced and headed for the door. The last sight of her he saw before he closed the door shut was of her tightly grasping their son's tiny hand.

.-.-.

"What if it was something I did rather than something you did? Did you consider that?" Sinbad said quietly.

.-.-.

"If your brothers find out about Kouki, they'll demand that we marry, himegimi," he reminded her gently.

"That's why you can't let on that I'm his mother," was all she commented. "He physically takes after you more, so it won't be difficult to fake it."

"But he has your eyes," he reminded her. "And I won't live a lie if it's going to hurt both of you even more."

She didn't know what to say that. This was not how she had imagined Sinbad to treat them when they came here.

Oh, she had always been fairly certain that he'd be a wonderful father to their son - seeing as to how he got along very well with kids and how well he treated anyone he considered as family - but for him to not neglect her either, but instead consider her feelings very carefully…she hadn't expected that at all, since he was well known being such an infamous playboy.

.-.-.

"I won't make you marry me, even for the sake for our son. But…I'd like to try and court you, Kougyoku."

She had been rendered speechless and could only gape at him. But what pleased him was that she was actually blushing. That had been a sight he never thought she'd ever do again in his presence.

"But I don't-" she started protesting.

He didn't let her finish that sentence, grasping her hand and bringing it up to his lips. "You're my _family_ now, Kougyoku. _You and Kouki._ Won't you let me try and be a proper partner to you?"

"Sinbad-san, I just need you to be a _proper father_ to _him_!" she insisted.

"And I _will_ ," he said, stepping closer to her. "But I want to be a _proper partner_ to you _too_ , if you'll accept me, Kougyoku. After all, we have a son to raise. _Together._ "

.-.-.

He never believed it was possible - but he really was no longer interested in any other women. It was her he wanted to see naked, her skin that he wanted to touch with his bare hands, her body that he wanted to worship and lavish attention on and also dreamt about at night, resulting in him waking up in the morning feeling extremely frustrated.

But what scared him more than his sexual yearning for her was his desire to see her laugh because of him, to have her beam her smile his way, to touch her simply for the sake of touching her, to just have her by his side by her own will and not because of the circumstances.

How should a ladies man go about courting the mother of his son and convincing her to become his wife and ruling queen? That was the dilemma Sinbad was struggling with right now.

.-.-.

"He's falling for you," Alibaba commented as they worked on the flower crowns in the garden with Kouki.

She almost tore apart the flower crown she was working on out of shock, but fortunately Kouki - who was in her lap - didn't notice anything amiss as he was too focused on trying to do what his mama and uncle were. "You don't know that," she said stiffly.

He shrugged. "I'm not the only one who thinks so, you know."

"Just because he hasn't slept with anyone ever since we came here -," she argued.

"It's not just that," he interrupted. "It seems you haven't noticed how he looks at you, Kougyoku."

"Don't you mean at Kouki?" If he was referring to the looks that man often directed at their son, those she definitely noticed. It was impossible not to, when he kept looking their way whenever he could with an intensity that admittedly unsettled her, which she tried her best to ignore.

The blonde shook his head. "No. He looks at you too, you know. You should see his expression when he does Kougyoku, except you normally avoid making eye contact with him and thus never get to see it."

"What're you trying to say, Alibaba-chan?" she said tersely.

"I just want you to be happy, Kougyoku," Alibaba said quietly.

"Thanks Alibaba-chan," her tone gentled and she smiled. "Now, enough about me - how are things between you and Morgiana?"

And then it was the blonde's turn to blush, as Kougyoku began to drill him about any new scoop that might have happened between him and his sole household member.

.-.-.

"Where were you Papa?" Kouki asked one day.

Sinbad thought his mini-me meant just now, before he successfully managed to escape from his mountain of paperwork in order to see him. "Sorry, Kouki, Jaafar-jiisan had Papa trapped in the office since morning -"

The smaller version of him shook his head. "No. Not that, Papa." Dark pink eyes looked sombrely up at him. "Before - when Kouki was only with Mama. Where were you, Papa?"

Ohh, he breathed. He meant during the time before Kougyoku decided to come to Sindria.

He knelt down so he'd be face to face with his son. "I was here, Kouki," he said gently, gesturing to their surroundings.

"But why weren't we here with you?" Kouki inquired. He didn't understand.

The Sindrian king knew that this conversation was going to happen one day, but he never thought it would happen so soon. His and Kougyoku's son was far too intelligent for his age.

Fortunately, he had an answer prepared.

"Because your mama thought I didn't want you two," he admitted.

"You didn't want us?" He looked really hurt. Sinbad could feel his heart clench painfully.

"No, of course I wanted you both!" he hastened to reassure him. "But Mama wasn't so sure - so she never told me about you. So Papa didn't know about you until you and Mama came here."

"But you mustn't blame Mama for that," he added. "It was Papa's fault that Mama would ever think that way."

"Kouki, Papa's sorry that Papa wasn't there before, for both you and Mama," he apologised, placing his hand on his son's tiny, tiny head. Even now, a whole year after they had first started living in Sindria, the boy was still so small to him. Had he ever been this tiny before? He could hardly believe it. His son was so small, and so vulnerable. If Kougyoku hadn't been a king vessel user herself, with the ability to defend herself from most attacks with ease, who knows what trouble could've befell them both, a single mother, her young son and three servants travelling together - with Alibaba only occasionally accompanying them.

He tried not to dwell on the darker possibilities.

"I'm here now," he said softly. "And we'll _never_ be separated again. Okay?"

And for the first time since this conversation started, his little one smiled. "With Mama too, right?" he checked.

Sinbad hugged him tight. "Of course, with Mama too."

Kouki couldn't see the disconcerted look on his papa's face at the mention of his beloved mama.

.-.-.

A knock came upon his door, and before he could answer, in walked Kougyoku - who was the last person he would have expected to walk into his chambers at this time of night. His first thought was that something might have happened to Kouki and he sat up in alarm but did not get off as she was already quickly approaching his bed. "Kougyoku, did something happen? Is Kouki alright?"

But then he froze because she was suddenly straddling him and kissing him, brushing herself up against his naked chest with her thinly clothed one, her nipples erect and leaving trails of what felt like fire on his skin. After pulling herself away from the kiss, she took one of his unresistant hands and brought it lower down her body, where he could feel how wet she was. " _Touch me_ , Sinbad, _"_ she whispered, voice breathy in a way he'd never heard before and making him harden unwillingly.

Someone had somehow managed to administer Kougyoku an aphrodisiac, he realised, trying to think with his brain and not with his lower body. He could feel his ever present innate wrath stir, but he stamped it down firmly, with as much vengeance as he was stopping his equalling arising lust. For now, what he should concentrate on the most was dealing with Kougyoku's unnatural lust, not his own. He'd find the perpetrator and deal with them later. _Severely._

"Sinbad-sama," she was practically pleading as as she actually settled herself down perfectly in his lap, creating such delicious fiction that he had to bite down, hard, on his lip until it bled so as not to groan and incite her further. " _I_ _need you_. _Please. Take me. Now._ "

He knew that there were only a few ways to deal with the effects of an aphrodisiac. One of course, was to actually use it as it was meant, but that was _not_ an option he was going to consider, period. Kougyoku would not only be disgusted by him, she would probably also never trust him again.

He _refused_ to let that happen.

The second option was to give the one who was feeling the effects some medicine to clear the lustful haze from their mind. But he didn't have such a thing handy in his chambers and she was already much too deep in the haze of this state for him to take his time and summon Yamuraiha for some.

So all he had left was to use the last option. He cupped the back of her head, bringing her close as if to kiss her - and then he whispered into her ear, "I won't have you _this_ way, Kougyoku," before he pressed a pressure point on her neck and rendered her unconscious.

.-.-.

Kougyoku woke up the next day in her own chambers, next to her peacefully sleeping son. Her head pounded as if she was suffering from a terrible hangover, but unfortunately for her, she had perfect memory of what had happened last night, which she was recalling now and making her blush in embarrassment and shame.

He hadn't taken advantage of her state to satisfy his own lust for her, she suddenly realised, her mind not able to accept that as fact. She hadn't thought it'd be possible for him to restrain himself so much, especially after hearing rumours of how he entertained entire harems at night when he felt like it and remembering (with utmost embarrassment) just how wanton and desperate she had been last night.

And especially hearing the fact and definitely not rumour from Jaafar, who would certainly know for sure - that he hasn't slept with anyone for a while now. In fact, according to him, it had been since she and her little one had appeared in Sindria.

How was she ever going to face him now? she thought, dismayed.

It looked like she wasn't going to have much of a choice about that though, because someone knocked on her door and she automatically told them to come in without thinking too much about exactly _who_ could be at the door (because normally her attendants announced their presence) and lo and behold, of course who else could it be but the very last person she wanted to see himself.

"Good morning, himegimi," Sinbad greeted. He didn't say it with his usual pomp and cheer, but was looking at her with careful caution. "How're you feeling?"She blushed anew when she realised that he was referring to last night. "I-I'm fine now!" she practically squeaked. She tried her best not to let her eyes stay transfixed on the cut that glared red on his lip, a clear reminder of what had transpired between them, and of his restraint.

"That's good to know," he said as he set a steaming mug of something on her bedside table. "But here's something that'll take care of your headache."

"Oh, um, thank you," she said, but she made no move to take it from the platter he'd it brought it on. She clenched her fists and decided that she had to say it now before she decided that she would never again have the courage to. "Sinbad-san, I apologise for how I acted last night -"

"It wasn't your fault, Kouygoku," he interrupted gently. "Besides…if you weren't in that state…," he gave her one of those intense looks Alibaba had told her about, making a shiver go up her spine. She refused to admit how delicious that shiver felt. "I would have throughly enjoyed it, Kougyoku."

It should be a crime for a man to make her blush so much with just words and a single look, Kougyoku thought. "S-still -"

"If you still insist on apologising," he whispered, as he sat down on the side of her bed and was all of a sudden far too close for her comfort. "Then, as an apology-," he whispered. "Will you kiss me, Kougyoku?"

She almost gasped at his request. But he just kept his eyes trained on hers, as he remained perfectly still without leaving much of a gap between the two of them.

He was leaving it all up to her.

She should reject him, she thought wildly, even as her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Didn't this count as twisting it to his advantage?

But he was leaving the choice to her. And last night, she remembered with searing detail how he had said that he refused to have her in her unnaturally lustful state - that he would only have her when she was fully aware of her own actions, and it seems, only if she was going to initiate first, albeit at his urging.

 _I'm still suffering from the effects of that drug,_ she told herself even as she closed the gap and touched her lips lightly to his.

But it seemed like he wasn't satisfied with just that, as he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her close until she was practically plastered against him. Cupping the back of her head, he nibbled her lips, gently coaxing her mouth open until she finally parted her lips. He kissed her thoroughly, more thoroughly than she had briefly kissed him last night and she had to stifle the moan that was threatening to leave her mouth.

Then, as if they finally realised just where they were, and that they had a now awake audience, they broke apart, somewhat reluctantly.

The sole member of their audience was looking at them quietly, though his eyes were sparkling. "Good morning, Mama, Papa!" Kouki greeted as if it was normal for him to see them kissing like that.

Mama pushed Papa away hurriedly, face almost as red as her hair. "G-Good morning, Kouki!" she greeted, as she kissed him on the cheek as she always did when he just woke up. "Papa's here to wake us up for breakfast."

His dark pink eyes widened in surprise at that admission. After all, normally Sinbad would just be waiting at the dining room for them. This was a first. "Really, Papa?" he asked, excited as he turned towards his papa, who gave him an affectionate pat on the head as he normally did every morning. "Are you going to come wake us up everyday from now on?"

Kougyoku paled at the realisation that her attempt to explain Sinbad's presence so early in the morning in their room had suddenly backfired on her.

"If Mama is ok with it, then of course, Kouki," he agreed, the sly man.

Dark pink eyes turned back to her. "Oh please Mama! Can he?"

She wasn't going to able to get out of this without severely disappointing her little one, was she? "Alright," she agreed, to cheers from her little man and a annoyingly triumphant smirk on the older one.

"I'll go take a shower real quick!" Kouki said, as he sped off to their personal bathroom.

"Not that quickly, young man!" Kougyoku nagged after him. "Wait for Mama, Mama'll come with -" but suddenly she stopped talking.

Kouki turned back to peek over his shoulder and grinned when he saw that it was because Papa was kissing Mama again, effectively distracting her from making sure he showered properly.

He grinned and sped away quickly before Mama could chase after him.

.-.-.

Kougyoku hadn't been entirely alone during those five years when she hid herself from the rest of the world.

She had been somewhat heavily pregnant when she decided to finally settle down somewhere for a while rather than continuously moving as she had been doing throughout her pregnancy, as she was afraid that she might go into labour during her travels, and also because it was starting to get very tiring for her to keep moving.

Since her djinn was Vinea, who was also her greatest defence against any enemy attacks or pursuers, she decided to hide herself on a small, deserted island in the middle of the nowhere. She would have taken a step further and gone underwater to live in one of the underwater caverns where she had hid herself during the first few months, if not for the fear of hurting the unborn child she carried if she tried to do that for the whole pregnancy period.

And, of all people, who would happen to find her in the little permanent camping area she'd made for herself, but Alibaba Saluja, her one time almost fiancee-to-be?

She had automatically gone into a defence stance the moment he appeared, of course. After all, she had heard through the grapevine when she passed through towns that he had entered a contract of some sort with her eldest brother Kouen, for the sake of Balbadd. She felt panicked - had he come here on behalf of her brothers?

"Leave!" she warned him. She could feel Vinea straining to be let out - the djinn had been her sole companion during the past year, and the dragon was as protective of her child as she was. She understood what it felt like to be a mother, from her previous life. No one was getting near this child without passing through _her_ first.

"You're Kougyoku-san, the missing Kou princess, aren't you?" the blonde clarified. He set down his sword and upturned his palms, to show her that he wasn't armed anymore, before letting them settle at his sides. "I'm not here to bring you back, Kougyoku-san."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Then _why_ are you here?"

"I heard rumours that there was this really young pregnant lady camping out here on an island located in the middle of nowhere," he said. "Some said that was just a made up story, others swore that she was the ghost of a woman who was marooned here by the baby's unwilling father, where died before she could give birth due to starvation. I came by to see if it was true - no woman should be out here in such a state. I never imagined that the lady would turn out to be you, of all people, Kougyoku-san."

She clenched the hilt of Vinea's Djinn Weapon form tightly. "Why would you care if a pregnant woman you didn't know at all was living in such a way?"

"Because my mother was a prostitute, Kougyoku-san," he said gently. "I've seen my fair share of pregnant women in the brothel I used to live in. I - I'm rather sensitive about that, you see." _Since I'm also the unplanned son born from a prostitute and a brothel customer._

Kougyoku had known of the youngest Balbadd prince's only partially royal background, but she didn't realise that his mother was also a courtesan like hers. Without realising it, she was unconsciously loosening the tight grip she had on Vinea.

"You shouldn't stay here, Kougyoku-san," he advised carefully. "It's not good for both you _and_ the baby."

She shook her head. "I can't go back to the mainland! I need to stay here, where no one can find me and force me to go back."

"But what if someone else came here like me, to see if the rumours were true?" he pointed out. "And they might be dodgy strangers next time, with no qualms about taking advantage of your vulnerable state, Kougyoku-san."

"Then where do you suggest I go?" she asked tiredly. Her baby was kicking her stomach again, and she was so very tired. All she wanted to do was rest. She was so tired of being on her guard all the time.

"Come with me," he offered her a hand. "I'll look for some place safe for you. And I won't tell _your family_ about your condition. I _promise_."

Even though they had met only briefly during that time in Balbadd, she had known even then that he was a good person. Within her hairpin, Vinea vibrated in agreement, telling her, _He's not lying, Kougyoku-chan. He's serious about it._

She'd never had someone who wasn't her family or her attendants care about her so much before. The thought never occurred to her that anyone else _would_.

Was this what friendship was like?

She finally grasped his hand, which apparently made him smile. She gave him a small hesitant smile back, as the rukh surrounding them swirled around in the happy colours of friendship.

.-.-.

It was so strange to have someone to depend on again. Having him with her made her remember Ka Koubun and her other two attendants though, and her heart ached for them. She was grateful to have Alibaba with her of course, but the three of them had practically raised her. She missed their steady presence - Ka Koubun's barely hidden but often poorly planned grand schemes, the duo's exasperation at their superior's antics, but most of all, she missed the trio's uttermost loyalty towards her. She needed them now more than ever, in her currently very vulnerable state.

"Why didn't you bring any of your attendants along with you?" Alibaba asked one night as he massaged her sore feet.

"Ka Koubun has always had great ambitions," she explained, as she tried her best to no avail to not to sink in the cushioned chair she was sitting in due to his wonderful ministrations. "I couldn't ask him to leave the palace for me. Nor could I do that to any of my other attendants."

"Hmm," was all Alibaba said and then the conversation steered into a different topic altogether, and soon she forgot all about him ever bringing them up.

She thought no more of that conversation until a few days later, when her only friend came back with _guests._

Not just any guests, but her _attendants,_ Makoto, Akira and of course, Ka Koubun.

All three men were overcome with joy at the sight of her alive and fine, and when she saw them she couldn't even get mad at Alibaba for bringing them here because she started crying without meaning to, which made _all_ of them start crying, while Alibaba just stood at the side grinning at this touching scene.

"We're staying with you from now on," Ka Koubun told her firmly. The two other two nodded in agreement. "You're not to go off on your own anymore, Kougyoku-hime."

She was too happy at the turn of events to argue and nodded in agreement. "Thank you, all of you," she said softly, voice still hoarse from crying.

.-.-.

It had been a good idea on his part to contact Kougyoku's attendants, Alibaba thought. Due to his trips back and forth to the Kou imperial palace, he could see for himself just how destitute all of them had been at her sudden disappearance, at how they insisted on keeping her room as it was in the hopes that she would one day just decide to come back.

So after Kougyoku had confessed as to why she had decided not to bring her attendants with her, his mind was made up and he approached them. Their reactions varied from disbelief, to suspicion and to the one that was strongest - hope. And when he showed them the handkerchief that Kougyoku carried with her even now - that had the embroidery of her as a little girl with all three of them - Ka Koubun's work - they instantly believed him. That was one of their princess's most treasured items after all.

.-.-.

Sinbad refused to admit that he was jealous. Oh, he was fully aware that he was jealous alright, but to admit it was a different story altogether.

He could accept her and Kouki interacting with her three attendants, that was unavoidable after all - but he felt very differently in regards to Alibaba's attentions. The man had done well to pretend that he hadn't known what happened to the princess all this while, when normally he was as easy to read as Kougyoku had once been.

Kouki really liked him too, calling Alibaba his favourite uncle - even now that he had many other uncles and aunties who liked to spoil him, the blonde was still steadfastly his favourite, even though he wasn't in Sindria all the time. Kougyoku was also always a little happier every time _he_ came over too, and whether Sinbad wanted to admit to it or not, it was a fact that he was literally green with envy at their obvious closeness, even though they were clearly just friends.

The blonde had been there when he hadn't been though, Sinbad often reminded himself. And for that he was grateful.

But that did not mean that he would stop being jealous about it. After all, the man had filled in for his role during those three years of Kouki's life that he had missed - as a somewhat fellow parent alongside Kougyoku, and as semi-father figure to Kouki in the form of an uncle.

He'd never get those years back, and he had only himself to blame.

.-.-.

 _To be continued…?_

.-.-.

 **KOUKI**

 **GENDER:** Masculine

 **USAGE:** Japanese

From Japanese 光 _(kou)_ "light" or 幸 _(kou)_ "happiness" combined with 希 _(ki)_ "hope" or 輝 _(ki)_ "radiance, shine".


End file.
